Freedom Rock Commercial A classic [2:02 | Jan 14 2008 | Internet Lurker]
Found a bit more info on it.
“Hey, man! Is that Freedom Rock?”
“Yeah, man!”
“Well, turn it up, man!”
In the 1980s, the lure of cheap commercial time led to many legendary mail order offers. There was the Ginsu knife, the Sports Illustrated football phone, and a laundry list of compilation records that assembled hit songs without the pain of B-side clunkers.
And then there was Freedom Rock.
Less a commercial and more a piece of performance art, the two-minute spot aired circa 1987 and depicted two burnouts grooving to hits from Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers, and Jefferson Airplane. Idling near a van, the two reminisce about the good old day (“war protests, jail”) and extol the virtues of 1960s rock on “four records, three cassettes, or two CDs.”
Tracked down after making a comment on the video’s YouTube page in 2013, Beard told Retroist.com he was paid about $700 for the spot and found inspiration by acting "nervous and stoned.” His “Hippie #1” character, who appears irresistibly upbeat even while suffering what looks to be a mild case of the tremors, was the primary factor in the ad’s notoriety. According to its unofficial Facebook fan page, viewers recall seeing T-shirts with Beard on the back flashing a peace sign.
